Government buildings, embassies, and other public areas are often times the subject of tenor threats and terrorist attacks. Many of these attacks involve the use of explosives that produce both large amounts of debris and a pressure wave. Debris from the explosion can be created from the surroundings of the explosion. Debris may also be augmented by the bomb maker by including ball bearings, nails, and other objects with the explosive. The debris is driven at high speed by the pressure wave from the explosion and may cause physical injury to property and people.
In a common security scenario, an explosive detonates outside of a building. The explosion generates both a pressure shock wave and a blast wind. The shock wave carries debris outwardly, damaging property and people. When the shock wave from the explosion encounters a window or other opening, broken glass shards of the window or other material covering the opening may also be carried by the shock wave.
In order to provide protection from such explosions, barriers of various types have been deployed in order to reduce the damage and injury resulting from these attacks. Typically, these barriers include solid structures that block the damaging debris resulting from the explosion, but they also reduce the ventilation and the light that reaches the protected area. These types of barrier are particularly unsuited for use with windows or other openings, and are not amenable to easy cleaning and maintenance. These barriers also often times do not have a pleasing aesthetic appearance and are typically large and unwieldy. It is also possible for a solid barrier to cause additional damage if the shock wave overwhelms the barrier and damages the barrier.
It would be desirable to have a blast protection system which provides protection from the debris resulting from an explosion while also addressing the drawbacks discussed above.